Made with the bottom of the bag cracklin crumbs, extra sharp cheddar, onion and jalapeños, these tasty crawfish cornbread muffins are over the top cheesy, spicy and delicious.
The last time I went to Louisiana to visit family, I happened to spy some cracklin crumbs in bags on the counter at one of the local butchers. I couldn’t resist buying them since the price was so good compared to the actual cracklin which has reached the astronomical price of more than $20 per pound. I pictured myself sprinkling it on things to add flavor, salt and spice, and so I have.
But what I really wanted to do with it was make cornbread. I’m finally getting around to that! And since I happened to have some crawfish in the freezer as well, that got added in too. Because why not?
Crawfish Cornbread Muffins
If you can’t find cooked crawfish in the freezer section of your local stores, substitute shrimp. Also, I recommend baking these in silicone muffin cups. As you will see in the photos below, mine stuck on the bottom despite a generous brushing of the muffin pan with oil. If you don’t have cracklin crumbs, add an extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the mix.
Ingredients
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced (about 5 oz or 140g)
1-2 fresh jalapeños, stemmed and finely chopped (deseeding optional)
1 cup or 180g yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup or 32g flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I use Slap Ya Mama since it’s lower in sodium than some of the other brands.)
3 eggs
1/3 cup or 80ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for sauté and muffin pans
4 oz or 113g extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/4 cups or 170g frozen corn, thawed
6 oz or 170g crawfish tail meat, roughly chopped
1/2 cup or 60g cracklin crumbs, optional, or 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 350° F or 180°C. Grease 12 silicone muffins cups and put them in a muffin pan or on a large baking pan.
Sauté the onion and jalapeños in a skillet with a drizzle of oil until softened. Set aside to cool.
Stir the cornmeal, cracklin crumbs (if using), baking powder, salt and creole seasoning together in a large bowl.
Add the grated cheese and stir to coat.
Add the crawfish and stir to coat again.
Add the corn and the onion/jalapeño mixture and stir to combine.
Note: You will notice that you don’t see the onion and jalapeños in that photo. That is because I had already added the eggs and oil and then turned around to see them, all nicely cooled in their pan on the other side of the sink. So in reality they went in after the eggs but they sure would be mixed in more easily with the corn when all the ingredients were still relatively dry, which is what was meant to happen.
In another bowl, whisk the eggs and oil together. Pour this into the muffin mixture and stir to combine.
Divide the cornbread mixture into your prepared silicone muffins cups.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
This is the debacle you can expect if you don't use silicone muffin cups or liners. You have been warned!
I must confess though that we used a spoon to scrape those stuck bits out and they were delicious and crunchy! They did not go to waste.
Leave to cool for a few minutes, then release them from the silicone cups and leave on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm with extra butter, if desired.
It’s the last Monday of the month so that means it’s time for Muffin Monday! Check out the great muffins my friends are sharing below:
#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our
Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our
home page.
Pin these Crawfish Cornbread Muffins!
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